Gas fueled rail heater



March 31, 1953 D. G. KERWIN ETAL 2,633,190

dAs FUELED RAIL HEATER Filed June 18, 1947 L INYENTOR. fizz/ad G Kenyan,Frederic/(( 0mm; an, I

Patented Mar. 31, 1953 GAS FUELED RAIL HEATER Daniel G. Kerwin, Chicago,and Frederick G. OCallaghan, Franklin Park, Ill., assignors, by mesneassignments, to The Rails 00., New

Haven, Conn.

Application June 18, 1947, Serial No. 755,304

This invention relates to a rail heater for melting snow and ice intrack-switches. Sometimes they are called switch heaters. The demand fora gas heaterthat remains lighted irrespective of weather conditions andwithout supervision is increasing because of the growing number ofrailroad centralized trafiic control systems where switches at pointsremote from railroad personnel must be kept in operable condition; Therequirementsfor this type of switch heater are much more exacting thanare those for the switch heaters that have been in common use inapproaches to yards and stations, where during inclement weather,personnel is constantly supervising the heaters and reigniting them whenthey are blown out.

The problem to be solved by a switch heater is frequently misunderstood.Many think that the switches become inoperable because of the freezingof water and snow amongst the operating parts. This is not correct. Theswitch is blocked because of the jamming of snow between a switch pointand the rail against which the switch. point operates. Figure 1illustrates an ordinary switch. Numerals l and I2 identify 39 foot raillengths; l4 and it are the switch points, and I8 and 20 are railscontinuing the switch track and the main track respectively. The switchpoints I4 and I6 slide back and forth on plates such as 22 and 24 andthe points may be joined, at one end by one or more links such as 26.Referring to Figure 2, which is a view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure1, the snow drops into the space 28. As the switch is thrown back andforth, the point It packs the snow into the space 28 adjacent the Web ofthe rail and beneath the ball. Commonly, the temperature of the rails,the points, the plates, and the ties is below freezing, and there is nowater formation. Each time the switch .is thrown they point [6 packsmore snow and very quickly the point is working against a snow pack,which from the standpoint of. strain, is the equivalent of ice. At thispoint the switch cannot be thrown. Moreover, the points are likely tolock in a midpoint position so that a train cannot advance onto eitherthe main track or the switch track. The switch cannot be easily cleared.It is not a question of breakingwith a hammer small formations of icebetween the bo-ttom of the switch points and the base of the rail and oftheswitch-point, as sug? gested by the dotted line 34 in Figure 2. Thesecond type seeks to heat, continuing to reier to Figure 2, the web 13of the rail. Applicant sterm this the web and ball type heater. Itmustbe of a length such that it can be used not only on rails at switches,-but at crossovers-and oilers and hence is built in'a standard,"comparatively short length. The theoryof this typeof heater is that asfast as the-snow is packed against the web, the snow is melted and'thewater runs down onto the ballast. This typeof heaterhas been employedfor some years-on streetrailway switches, and is shown in the GreenfieldPatent No. 1,681,231. The invention that is the subject of thisapplication is of this second type.

Both types of rail heaters when employed at unsupervised switches, mustbe able to resist blowing out due to the passage of a train, or ifblown'out, must be capable of being reignited automatically. 7;

The first object of this invention is to provide a new and improved weband ball type heater characterized by burners protected by open-end.- edtunnels which constitute combustion chambers and these are positioned toresist the snufling effect of a gust of wind moving through the heateralong a, path substantially parallel to the rail. The burners employedare old in the propane gas art. A propane burner has a tunnel which ismade of heat-radiating material and the burner is designed so that theflame will heat the tunnel. Until the tunnel is heated, the propane gas,which is slow burning, will not burn efficiently. However, applicants inthe present invention are not concerned with the. burning qualities ofthese propanetunnels. The important function of the tunnel so far asthis invention is concerned is that-it provides a combustion chamberwhich is shielded from a strong gust of wind. The featureof applicantsinvention, therefore, is the positioning of these tunnels in the heaterso that the plane of their delivery orifice is parallel to the length ofthe rail. A gust of wind caused by a moving train will move across thetunnel mouth and not into it. Inasmuch as most of the combustion occursin the tunnel, in which the gas and air pressure is higher thanatmospheric pressure, the effect of a gust of wind across the tunnelorifice which further lowers the pressure in the tunnel, will be little.

It is important that the pressures in the tunnel be such that combustionwill take place there and applicants utilize a, wide-range aspiratorwhichwill mix the proper amounts of air with gas despite a wide range ofgas pressures. Propane gas is usually under comparatively high pressureand natural gas from city mains is supplied in a rather wide range ofcomparatively low pressures.

The second object of this invention is to provide a flame' transferchannel which will reignite snuffed-out burners". Applicants burners arespaced four inches apart and are in a straight line. So long as oneburner remains ignited, all burners will be promptly reignited by themovement of gas along the flame transfer channel. d d V Another objectof this invention is'to provide a multiple unit heater which maybeassembled on the job and still provide a flame transfer channelbetween the units. A feature of this heater is a bridging flame platewhich may be positioned between adjoining heaters and which in effectmakes a single heater out of a plurality or units? Another object of the'inventien is to preduce a heater or simple constructi Mast heaterstoday have gas manifolds csnsisting or a pipe and a shield of some sortis attached to' the pipe. Applicants heater including" the mani rem-ariathe" shieldis formed out or a single sheet or plate arsteel whiehc'a'nbe bent on brakes and sip r iine'welaedto held 'th'e desired oiffig'urion. Thegas rnahifolditself is 'sd are in "er -sect'io'ii, but andijdinary' pipe do pllng isin dunted at each-end. The aspirator isdesigned to handle a selected number of burners. In applicants design,the aspirator will handle two lengths of live feet each where theaspirator feeds the gas through a T into one end of each length. I heaspirators capacity is not suitable for attachment to one end (if aten-foot length.

Some difiiculty has been experienced with the shields of heaters whichwarp due t6 changes in temperature. Inasmuch as the shield is really aba fi le for directing heat against fthe 'ur'ider side of the rail balland the 'Wb, when the shield warps, "it pen-nits the heat ts escapeupwardly between the bail and the shield, whereas the operation is moreefficient if the heat is forced downwardly and out around the bottom ofthe heater itself. Applicants provide slots in the shield which permit'so'ine expansion and contraction; thereby avoiding warping, although aslight a'inouri't 'of'he'at is lost as it passes through the slots. Aslot is also provided in the flame 's'fer"chafinel 'iintnediately aboveeach burner. "dvantage derived from the manifolds formed integrally withthe shield, .par- 'where the heater is using propane gas. g is duitecold and it tends to keep the manuals cold, and this turn tends to keepthe shield cold.

"These and ether objects may hereinafter appear are attained in the"embodiment of the invention hereinafter described in conju'n'ction withdrawings on one sheet, wherein:

1 is a schematic, plan view of a railroad switch; Fig. 2 is a sectionalView or applicants heater positioned at a point on the rail indicated byline 2+2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is "an inside elevation or applicants heater; and F g.4 is a sideview or a bridging name plate.

, 1 Continuing" to refer to the drawings, the main 3. The lower portionof the plate, referring to Fig. 2, carries right angle bends, 32, 34,36, and 38, which form between themselves lands, the significant landbeing the burner land 40. The land 42 is welded to the under side of theplate. By this construction there is formed a manifold having arectangular cross section.- The ends of the manifold are closed by"couplings 44 and 46 which are brazed to the ends of the manifold, seeFig. 3.

A The burner land 40 carries a row of circular holes such as 48 in whichis mounted a tunneltype burner 50. This tunnel-type burner is similar tothose used for burning propane gas and consists of a burner screen 52mounted over the opening of the circular hole 48 and inside a tubulartunnel member or duct 54. The tunnel member or duct is made of metaladapted to radiate heat into the combustion space 56. These burners arespacedat selected intervals along the manirdld.

Men-med above the burners is a continuous flame angle, 53, Wl lih, theburner is mounted as illustrated in Fi 2, constitutes a downwardlydirected channel. Ihis' flame angle carries a transverse slot 60 aboveeach burner to permit expansion and contraction of the metal withoutwarping the name angle. The upper edge of the plate 30 is canted at 62and this canted portion carries slots 64 to permit expansion andcontraction or the plate 30 with'dut warping. In this type (if burnerthe plate 30 is commonly described as 'a shield. In applicants burner,however, the plate 30' constitutes the body of the device. This isimportant not only because it provides a simple construction but becausethe manifold 0601s" the plate 30 when the heater is operated on propanegas. When propane gas is introduced to the manifold, it is extremelycold and while the name heats the u per part of the plate,- the cold asin the manifold tends to edunter'act this undesirable heat.-

Applicant's rectangular manifold makes it possible to utilize a holder66 which'i's readily adjustable laterally. Referring to Fig. 2, thelower portion of applicants holder 66 is conventional, but the upperpart consists of two arms 68 and 10'. The arm 70 has 2. lug 18 on itsend. The inside dimensions between the arms, or one arm and the lug 1B,is slightly greater than the outside diameter of the manifold, so thatreferring to Fig. 3, the holder '66 can be slipped over the endof themanifold and then pushed down to any desirable point, the lug 18 notengagirig the burner 50. Ties do not bear any fixed relationship to theend of a switch point, and hence, the holder 66 must be movablelaterally ofthe heater.

Gas may be introduced to the manifold by mounting an aspirator such as 12 in Fig. 2 directly on the end of the coupling 44 in Fig. 3. However,the aspirator utilized by applicants has a capacity of handling twomanifolds with burners, each having a length of five feet. In Figs. 3and 4, there are illustrated portions of two of applicants burners inwhich the shield portion of the "plates 30 are joined by a bridgingflame plate 14, which has a spring clamp 16 for holding a T-coupling 18.More importantly, it has a flame transfer channel link 80. Asillustrated in Fig. 3, if all of the burners on the right-hand heaterare extinguished, gas from the left-hand heater will flow-along theflame transfer channel across the 'b'lidging plate and reignite theburners in the right-hand heater. The bridging flame plate is animportant practical asset in applicants device because it makes itpossible to string a row of heaters where fifteen or twenty feet of railweb should be heated while providing a maximum guarantee of reignitionof snuffed-out burners. These heaters must be installed by regularrailroad employees and for that reason, installation instructions mustbe simple and the equipment must be simple to install. Moreover, theheaters as made must be comparatively short. In many track layouts,heaters should be installed where the maximum available space is onlyfour or five feet. Unless the manufacturer is going to manufactureheaters of various lengths, the maximum length of a heater is limited tofour or five feet. As a practical matter, designing heaters for eachswitch installation is uneconomical and designing heaters of varyinglengths undesirable because neither railroads nor rail equipment jobberslike to tie up money in various length heaters. Applicants single lengthheater, therefore, conforms with standard practice but the bridgingflame plate makes it possible to join a plurality of these heaters inthe field so as to get a single heater of any desired length.

The end of a heater is closed by an end shield 82 which has a flange 84that engages the outside surface of the plate and a hole 86 which seatsover the coupling such as 46, see Fig. 3. This end shield may or may notbe fastened to the plate as it leaves the factory. Ordinarily, it isfastened in the factory at that end of the heater which is to be closedby a cap such as 33.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. A rail web and ball heater comprising a plate having an upper and alower side and having two substantially parallel edges, one edge of saidplate being folded around to the lower side of the plate so as to forman elongated manifold, a plurality of burners mounted along the manifoldadjacent the lower side of the plate, and each said burner including aduct connecting each burner to the manifold.

2. A rail web and ball heater comprising a plate having an upper and alower side and having two substantially parallel edges, one edge of saidplate being folded around to the lower side of the plate so as to forman elongated manifold, a plurality of burners mounted along the manifoldadjacent the lower side of the plate, each of said burners including aduct connecting each burner to the manifold, and a longitudinallyextending, continuous, flame transfer channel member mounted on thelower side of the plate.

3. A rail web and ball heater comprising a plate folded to provide anelongated manifold, a plurality of gas burners spaced along one face ofsaid manifold, a tubular tunnel member surrounding each burnercommunicating at one end with the interior of said manifold and at theother end forming a flame orifice, said orifices lying in a planesubstantially parallel to the length of the manifold, a shield integralwith and extending from the manifold over but spaced from said orificesand a longitudinally extending angle member, forming with the side ofthe manifold a continuous flame transfer channel, mounted immediatelybelow the shield and overlapping the flame orifices and into whichchannel said orifices are directed.

4. A rail web and ball heater comprising a longitudinally extendingmanifold of rectangular cross-section formed from a portion of a sheetmetal plate, the remainder of said plate projecting beyond the manifoldand adapted to extend towards the rail to be heated, a plurality of burnas operatively positioned along one side of said manifold below saidextended plate portion, and an angle member mounted on the lower side ofsaid extended plate portion overlapping the burners and forming with themanifold a continuous flame transfer channel into which said burners aredirected.

5. The rail web and ball heater of claim 4 wherein heat expansion slotsare cut into the extended edge of the plate.

6. The rail web and ball heater of claim 4 wherein a heat expansion slotis cut into the angle member forming the flame transfer channel aboveeach burner.

7. The rail web and ball heater of claim 1 in combination with a holderhaving fixed arms shaped to engage slidingly the greater portion of theoutside, cross-sectional periphery of the manifold.

8. A multiple unit rail web and ball heater comprising two identical,elongated heaters each having an elongated manifold provided with1ongitudinally spaced gas burners and a continuous flame channeladjacent to said burners and extending lengthwise of the heater and intowhich said burners are directed, said heaters being positioned inend-to-end relationship, a gas coupling positioned between the manifoldsof the heaters when they are positioned in end-to-end relationship, abridging flame plate mounted bet-ween the heaters, and a laterallyextending flame transfer channel mounted on the bridging flame plate inhorizontal alignment with the flame channels on the heaters.

9. In combination with two rail heaters, each comprising an elongatedmanifold provided with a plurality of gas burners spaced along the outerface of said manifold and protected by a continuous shield extendingfrom said manifold over said burners and a flame transfer channel formedwith the manifold by an angle member positioned below said shield andextending lengthwise thereof, into which channel said burners aredirected, of a bridging flame plate connecting said two heaters, saidplate having a cross-section to match that of the burner shields and anangle member integral therewith alignable with those of the two heatersto make said flame transfer channel continuous, and couplings forholding adjacent ends of the heaters and the bridging flame plate inassembled relationship.

DANIEL G. KERWIN. FREDERICK G. OCALLAGHAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

